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Researchers at University of Tsukuba analyzed healthcare data from Ibaraki Prefecture and found that few people seek medical care after being notified of abnormal lipid levels during health checkups. Those least likely to pursue medical care had characteristics such as irregular visits to medical institutions and no other abnormal results during the checkup. These findings could help motivate individuals with abnormal lipid levels to seek medical care.

Tsukuba, Japan—If untreated, dyslipidemia, especially high levels of LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol), increases the risk of myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, and dementia. Therefore, it is crucial to visit a medical institution and take appropriate measures when dyslipidemia is detected during a health checkup. Nevertheless, a report on corporate health insurance subscribers in Japan revealed that only 15%-20% of individuals identified with dyslipidemia during a health checkup visited a medical institution for follow-up within 6 months, highlighting the need to improve follow-up attendance at the medical consultation. However, it was still unclear which individuals were most likely to neglect treatment for lipid abnormalities identified during checkups.

In this study, researchers analyzed the follow-up data of National Health Insurance subscribers in Ibaraki Prefecture who exhibited lipid abnormalities during specific health checkups. They calculated the percentage of individuals who sought medical care for these abnormalities within 6 months of the checkup and identified the characteristics of those who did not visit a medical institution.

The analysis revealed that only 18.1% of the respondents visited a medical institution for dyslipidemia within 6 months of their health checkup. In terms of LDL cholesterol, those with mild abnormalities (an LDL cholesterol level of 140-160 mg/dL) were less likely to visit a medical institution (15.7%), whereas those with more severe abnormalities (an LDL cholesterol level of ≥180 mg/dL) were more likely to visit a medical institution (23.6%). Notably, nearly 80% of the respondents did not follow up with a physician.

The study also showed that younger individuals, males, occasional drinkers, those who underwent health checkups at public facilities, individuals without subjective symptoms, those with no other abnormalities, and those without regular physician visits or prescriptions before their checkups were less likely to seek follow-up care.

Overall, the results are expected to help identify high-risk individuals who are unlikely to receive follow-up care for lipid abnormalities identified during health checkups and encourage them to seek medical consultation.

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This work was supported by a grant-in-aid from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Policy Research Grants, Japan [grant number 23AA2003].

Original Paper

Title of original paper:

Factors associated with non-attendance at a follow-up visit for dyslipidemia identified at health checkups: a retrospective cohort study in a Japanese prefecture

Journal:

JMA Journal

DOI:

10.31662/jmaj.2024-0065

Correspondence

Professor TAMIYA Nanako
Research and Development Center for Health Services / Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba

Related Link

Institute of Medicine